The Madman With a Box and the Madman Without a Box
by whatifno
Summary: The Doctor, Rory and Amy land on an alien planet that even The Doctor hasn't encountered before. As they set out to explore Rory can't help but feel he's seen it...
1. Chapter 1

The Doctor clasps his hands, smiling at Rory and Amy while joyfully gesturing to the console behind him.

"Where to?" he asks with a childish sort of anticipation.

Rory beams at the proposition. "Well uh-"

"No, I already know, you want to go to a place you've never seen before, an alien planet, I know! A planet made of solid gold- which by the way actually exists- of course you want to go don't you!" The Doctor asks, sounding more like a statement.

"Of course!" Amy shouts with the same excitement The Doctor had just moments ago.

Rory looks between the two, both eagerly looking to him for an answer that's already been answered "Yeah, sure, I suppose…" he mumbles with indifference, a bit peeved that The Doctor had interrupted him.

Amy walks up to him and smiles "Come on stupid, lighten up!" she giggles.

Rory laughs in return and looks over to The Doctor "Let's go." he says a little more enthusiastically.

The Doctor grins wildly and taps some coordinates into a console that seemingly does nothing, he turns some valves and rushes about the TARDIS frantically, Amy and Rory hold on to something to stabilize themselves and The Doctor finally pulls a lever that seems to kick-start the TARDIS and send it on its journey, after a few moments of shakily travelling through the vortex the ground finally settles. The Doctor instantly regains his balance with experience while Amy and Rory still look queasy from the ride.

"Get up you two! You're going to love this!" The Doctor says, running over to the exit and gesturing for them to come over. Amy shortly after runs towards him and Rory eventually wanders over. "Are you ready for this?" He says once they reach the door.

"Yes, now open the bloody door you tease!" Amy shouts, still laughing.

The Doctor smiles and opens the door, gesturing to the landscape with one hand, his back facing it "Lady and gentleman, welcome to the planet Aurthemus!"

Amy and Rory look at it, less than impressed but still shocked.

"Well… It sure is alien." Rory says.

"Not very golden for a planet made of solid gold!" Amy scoffs.

"What do you mean-" The Doctor begins, but is interrupted by his own vision of the planet after turning around. "Oh… Well this isn't Aurthemus at all." He looks at the luscious green landscape and strange plants that arise everywhere, mushrooms as tall as trees and a more depressing land in the distance.

Amy and Rory stare at him before Rory notices something in the corner of his eye; he looks to the right of the TARDIS and sees a man leaning on it.

"So where are we then?" Amy asks.

"Judging by the sky, the forestry and the greenery I'd say… I have no idea!" The Doctor says jokingly.

"Well that's a whole lot of use." Amy says sarcastically.

"Come on lets go explore!" The Doctor says, adventure gleaming in his eyes, he walks a few steps out the TARDIS and Amy follows, he then looks to Rory "You coming with us or are you just going to look daft all day?"

"Doctor, who is that?" Rory says, pointing to the man by the TARDIS.

"Who is who?" Amy and The Doctor ask simultaneously. Rory looks at them confused.

"He's right there why can't you-" Rory begins before he's interrupted by the strange man.

"Quiet mortal, don't be such a fool, or be a fool if ya want, it can be rather fun until people feel the need to kill ya. Anyway only you can see me so don't even try and communicate that to your little buddies! It'll make ya seem… Mad." He says in a heavy Scottish accent, chuckling at his last remark.

"Fine then, who are you?" Rory asks nervously.

"Rory who are you speaking to?" Amy asks, getting worried.

"Just a moment Amy this is _very _important!" Rory says impatiently, Amy seems taken aback by this.

"Let's just say I'm… A lot bigger on the inside than on the outside." He laughs at his comment hysterically, which makes him look like he knows who they really are. With a click of his fingers and a puff of smoke he disappears from Rory's view entirely. Rory shakes his head and ponders what he just saw by staring into the space where the man had stood.

"Are you ok?" Amy asks, placing a hand on his shoulder, this seems to kick him back into reality and he shudders a little at the touch.

"Yeah… Yeah I'm fine. Must be some… time travel after effects or… something…" Rory mutters to her, looking rather ill.

The Doctor walks over to the two and stares at Rory "I've never heard of time travel after effects and I've been around for nine hundred plus years…" He states, looking at Rory with worry "What did that man look like, the one in your vision?" He adds curiously.

"Well he was uh… Kind of old… And he wore a strange suit- you know what does it really matter? He wasn't real and you know that!" Rory snaps uncharacteristically near the end in an empty panic.

"Come on now Rory ya know I'm real, just tell em, or don't, or do both! If that's even possible. You'd do that for yer own uncle wouldn't ya? If I was your uncle that is. Who knows! Maybe I am-" The man rambles on in Rory's head.

"Shut up!" Rory shouts at nothing. Amy and The Doctor look incredibly confused and Rory sighs "Not you just… Forget this happened." Rory says, trying to look strong and regain his grip on reality, which can be rather difficult on an unknown alien planet potentially millions of light years away from Earth.

The Doctor looks at Rory and scans him with the screwdriver, after looking at it there seems to be a normal reading because he stands up straight and looks attentive again. "Right where were we before the outbursts of a maniac? Oh yeah! Exploring! How fun. Amy have you got any paper? We're going to have to make a map!"

Amy scrambles through her pockets and finds a blank crumpled piece of A4 paper and hands it to him "How's this?" she asks.

"Perfect" he says, uncrumpling the paper and drawing a rather crude square and a few trees where the TARDIS has landed. He holds the masterpiece up and looks around, scribbling some rough paths through the trees. "Quick Amy which way is north?" He asks.

"Uhh, have you got a compass I can use?" She asks a little sarcastically.

"There's one in the TARDIS I think, here" He throws her the key to it "It should be in a little metal box under the console, straight ahead as you go in. It looks like a compass!" He instructs.

"Oh alright then." Amy says, slightly surprised that he did have what they needed. She starts walking towards the TARDIS before she's suddenly stopped.

"Fourty-three degrees to the right" Rory says under his breath as he stares at the horizon dreamily. Interrupting Amy's train of thought and stopping her in her tracks.

"What did you just say?" The Doctor asks as he suddenly looks at him.

"Hmm? Oh, fourty-three degrees to your right is north…" He says, still daydreaming.

The Doctor looks around for a moment and uses the screwdriver a few times before gasping. "That was right. How could that have been right! You've never been here before! I've never been here before!" The Doctor shouts.

Rory stares at the horizon for a few moments longer before turning to The Doctor. "The 'mad god' told me… Whoever he is… He says we've all been here before. That we just don't know it because we're used to it being a lot darker… A lot more grim…" He says philosophically "I wouldn't believe him, but this place is way too familiar. Please tell me you feel the same, both of you." He says.

"Rory you're getting delusional, we've never been here before-" The Doctor starts.

"No, listen!" Rory shouts out "Really think about it! Have you been here before? Not even in person, does this place seem even remotely familiar to you?" He shouts, already grasping at straws.

"Yeah" Amy says shakily. "Yeah it does" she falters.

"You're lying to make me feel better aren't you?" Rory accuses. "Just _look_! _Really _look!" He shouts, truly expecting something.

"Rory you're getting delusional, it must be something in the air that's making you crazy, some sort of spore or fragrance drifting from these trees." The Doctor assures, scanning some of the plants around him with the screwdriver as if to verify it.

"Yeah, I would say the same but, it feels so real Doctor, like I really have been here before… And I'm scared, I'm so, so scared. He just won't be quiet, how long have we been here? Because it feels like _eternity_…" Rory admits, starting to cry.

The Doctor grabs him by the shoulders and looks into his eyes, grasping his attention. "Rory I can help you, I don't know what's happening but I will do everything in my power to try and help you" He consoles him.

Rory struggles from his grip and stares at him "All I can hear is a _madman _constantly ranting about things that don't even make sense!… But I know everything he says is the truth, and I don't know why I believe him, maybe he can only tell the truth or something but I don't know. I really, really don't know." Rory tries to explain, physical signs of stress showing through, tears still gathering at his eyes.

"Sounds a lot like you, Doctor." Amy says half-jokingly.

"Yeah… Yeah it does, doesn't it? Maybe if I get away from one ranting madman the other won't be so bad hmm? Or maybe there was only one all along!" Rory says angrily, storming off into the forest.

"Rory get back here! We don't know what's in there, it could be dangerous!" The Doctor shouts after him.

"Might just be as dangerous as being with you then, eh!" Rory sneers back, walking further into the forest.

The Doctor and Amy watch him walk in and Amy sighs. "Better go after the nut soon then." She says.

"Ah. Why did you have to go and scare him off? Never mind… Yeah sure, we'll follow the crazy man into the alien forest soon." He says, thinking about what Rory had said prior for a moment before dismissing it. "Well… there's a more than likely chance that there are weird monsters in there so we better get prepared!" He says, getting excited by the possibility of monsters shown by jumping up and down on the spot slightly, like a child on Christmas morning.

"Come on you." Amy says, continuing her journey into the TARDIS. The Doctor walks in after her and they begin to look for supplies.


	2. Chapter 2

Rory stumbles aimlessly through the forest, just trying to get away from his problems and the mocking voice that's following him, he eventually gets tired after an unknowable amount of time, as if the time around him isn't flowing correctly. He sits down under a large mushroom tree and sees that the smaller mushrooms around him are spreading spores, the voice seems to have left him for the time being which is a relief, he leans back and lets his guard down, closing his eyes.

Suddenly a loud voice wakes him up, this time actually having a source "Wake up before I pluck your eyes out you silly nurse!" Rory looks to the left of the mushroom and sees the man from earlier leaning against it, he jumps back in shock and grabs for a weapon he doesn't have.

"Wh- What do you want from me?" Rory demands, trying to sound strong but still shaking a little.

"Oh, not much, but you're the one that invaded my land… I should ask ya the same thing." He says in a more sinister tone.

"Well I… I- I didn't plan on coming here you know! And I wasn't piloting the ship either. So you can't really blame me for _stupidly coming to the wrong bloody place!_" He says, shouting the last sentence into the forestry as if The Doctor was there to hear him.

"Ship? What kind a magical ship is this?" The man asks curiously.

"Oh it-… It's… Never mind. I've already said way too much, I should really get going!" Rory says quickly, trying to turn around and walk away but the man just appears in front of him when he tries.

"The funny thing is, no, the really, really hilarious thing is that I can see every little bit of your memories, the terribly torturous ones and the wildly wondrous ones, but that ship is completely wiped from it. What's in that beautiful blue box then? And how does it have the power to best a daedra like me?" He asks, just getting more curious.

"I wouldn't know what's causing it uh, I mean, I don't actually own the box…" Rory says nervously but truthfully.

"Come on, you can tell your old uncle, right?" The man says.

"But I've never even seen you before, how the bloody hell can you be my uncle?" Rory shouts, getting flustered.

The man maintains a calm disposition which seems to be a hefty chore for him. "You're smart, nurse. Smart in ways that most others can't really see right? I'm kind of the same in that way, well there's one similarity between us! Hmm, and the whole uncle thing yes, I'm rather like an uncle to you. You've met me before but you don't really think about it, I'm just a blur to you. Nobody really likes to talk about me either so you're never really reminded that I exist either. Well this is your reminder, this is my home and this is my chance to make sure you never forget me. So who do you think I really am?" He laughs a bit after the long winded and composed speech, as if it were some joke he had made up.

"H-how am I supposed to know, I-I… Oh. I know who you are. Call me crazy but… You're madness." Rory says, shaking his head in disbelief before staring at the man, taking in his appearance fully. Seeing his strange eyes and bifurcated suit, who else _could_ it be?

"Ding ding ding! And you're the man who was alone for two thousand years! That's a record even for me. I won _soooo_ many bets with you against my daedra… _friends_. Your persistence saved your soul, nephew! Sadly your sanity isn't as intact." He starts to ramble on.

"Yeah, um, good luck with that, Uncle Madness." Rory says quietly to him, walking away from the area "I have to go do some… Stuff. It's important…" He bluffs obviously.

The man grabs him by the shoulder before he can go any further and stops him in his tracks. His expression turns to a grimace suddenly. "Stop playing doctor, nurse. Remember I can read your mind and wouldn't mind opening your skull and eating it. You don't go anywhere on these here isles I call home without me until you tell me what's in the funny blue crate, or until I turn you insane in the process. Got it nephew?" He threatens, his voice disturbingly happy.

"Sure… Ok! Uh, stop calling me weird things though, my name is Rory. You should know that by now since you spend so much bloody time watching me."

"I'll call you whatever I damn please! But now that you mention it, Rory isn't that bad a name either. I haven't heard such a name in all of Nirn." He says, seeming to complement it.

"Well, I'm gonna go look for Amy, feel free to follow me…" Rory sighs, tension showing.

The man disappears in a cloud of smoke and Rory starts to panic before hearing the now familiar voice in his head "Oh I'll always be here Rory!" The man chuckles, taking his time to roll the R's in Rory.

Rory rolls his eyes and looks around, trying to find a blue box amongst the foliage but failing; he can't remember which way he came from either so he ventures in one direction, hoping it will lead him to Amy and The Doctor.


	3. Chapter 3

The Doctor throws a metallic helmet towards Amy for her to catch but she jumps out the way in fear it will hit her, the loud clang of it hitting the ground makes The Doctor stop looking through his closet and peer towards Amy. "And what the hell was that for?" Amy shouts, irritated at the gesture.

"Oh _god _you were meant to catch that! Go pick it up it's for you!" The Doctor says, smiling at her. He goes back to running his eyes through the closet, looking for something specific.

Amy picks up the helmet and tries it on. "So why are we going all medieval?" She asks, then taking the helm off and examining it closer.

"Well while we looking around outside I caught sight of a castle, castles usually mean medieval things and medieval things are amazing! So even if it isn't actually the dark ages you will still look… Cool!" The Doctor replies, getting very excited at the prospect of a medieval land.

Amy nods and puts the helmet back on; it covers most of her head apart from an opening in the facial area, which has a small iron segment that covers her nose. The Doctor puts on a similar helmet but with two horns protruding from the sides and throws a chain-mail outfit to her while holding one in his hands. "Lets get these on then" The Doctor says, not sounding any less enthusiastic.

Amy walks behind him and into a changing room near the back of the closet while The Doctor just gets changed where he stands. After he's done he looks around the closet once more until he finds what he wants. Amy emerges from the dressing room and looks like a sort of guard from the supposed time period. The Doctor looks more like an adventurer which is fitting for what he is. He throws a sword at Amy and she squeals. "Stop throwing things at me!" She shouts at him.

"Fine! But you need to learn how to catch things Mrs. Pond!" He shouts back, sounding melodramatic. "Come on. We've got a medieval forest to explore!" He says, already running towards the door of the TARDIS.

Amy chuckles at his excitement and picks up her sword, running after him, armour making her a little slower than usual. Once they exit the TARDIS the sun is already setting. "What's with the sun? It was about midday when we went in there. We were only in there for about thirty minutes…" She says, completely confused.

"Yeah, we aren't really on earth here. Time doesn't flow the same" He says mysteriously.

"I thought you said these were medieval times?" Amy asks, just getting more confused.

"You need to stop forgetting that Earth isn't the only planet in the universe. A lot of planets have medieval times! And since the universe is so big there's a chance that one will look and behave a lot like Earth. I've been to a few before but not to this one. Even the TARDIS says it's unidentified. So it's our job now to identify it!" The Doctor says quickly, somehow knowing exactly what he is speaking about. "Look in the sky!" He says, pointing to the sky opposite the quickly lowering sunset, stars glowing very brightly, as if the nebulas in the sky are right next to them.

"Ok, ok. I believe you. Now how are we going to find Rory?" She asks, finally realising her priorities.

"Oh, yes, of course, the madman. Well we could always walk in the direction he went in." The Doctor says rather obviously.

"Let's go then!" Amy says, striding into the darkening forest.

The Doctor follows her in, taking his screwdriver from his pocket and scanning around, looking quite ridiculous as a knight with alien technology. He spins around quickly with it as usual but stumbling slightly due to the extra weight on his back.

"What are you doing?" Amy asks, staring wide-eyed at The Doctor.

"Scanning for life forms, trying to find Rory… Or something else." He says, screwdriver brightening, causing him to walk quickly in that direction.

"Something else?" Amy asks, walking after him.

"Big island full of trees and bushes, the chance of aliens is… A lot!" He says happily, still frantically pacing in the direction the screwdriver is leading him, getting louder and brighter.

"Aliens? Brilliant. Nine out of ten times 'aliens' means 'we better start running'!" Amy shouts sarcastically.

"Aww, but running's the best part! And it's good for your health. So stop whining, Pond!" He says, now trying to clear a few bushes away, having trouble doing it with his hands.

Amy huffs and leans up against a nearby tree while The Doctor digs away a clearing. "So… Do you think he's OK?" Amy asks, concerned for the first time since they got there.

"Who?" The Doctor asks, not paying attention properly.

"Rory! The one we're looking for!" Amy says, rolling her eyes.

"Oh! Well… I would say 'yes' but honestly I'm not really sure." He sighs and stops trying to clear a path. "There was something or someone speaking to him back there though, I'm sure of that. So we don't have to worry that he's gone mad… We just have to hope that someone or something hasn't killed him yet." The Doctor says, truthfully and solemnly.

Amy stares at him in horror for a moment before pulling the sword she was given out and clearing the passage easily with it, being inexperienced with it but the shrubbery being soft enough to cut through.

"I should have thought of that." The Doctor grumbles as Amy steps forward with determination through the new passage, The Doctor following her with his screwdriver still scanning.

They walk through a few more patches, the screwdriver getting louder and louder until it stops unexpectedly. The Doctor stares at it for a moment and Amy turns to look at him. "What's wrong?" Amy asks him, he responds by hitting the screwdriver a few times.

"Come on!" He shouts, starting to panic.

"Doctor, what's happening?" Amy asks, getting anxious too.

"It's… It's dead. No signal to anything, no nothing now." He sighs and takes a look around, trees in every direction he looks. "And I have no idea where we are…" He says, starting to look hopeless.

"So… We're lost?" Amy asks, already knowing the answer.

"Yep." The Doctor says, sitting down under a tree, Amy pacing back and forwards nervously.

After a few moments of this a singular applause pierces the silence between both The Doctor and Amy and they look to the side to see a strange man clapping. "Well done, I have to give ya credit that was record time, if I remember right that is, which I probably don't. But in all fairness you're from another land if I'm correct, and that's given you an unfair headstart!" He says, seemingly random, The Doctor and Amy stare at him in confusion. "Hey! I met ya friend Rory! Real fighter that one, isn't he? Took me a while but I still got to him though. A course I couldn't do the same thing with the two a you because… well I can't get into your head properly mister spaceman, and you woman, are a bit weird in other ways. I like weird though, weird is fantastic in the right dosage. Anything too high and I want to tear out their bowels." The man rambles on, The Doctor picking up every word but Amy not paying attention till the last part.

"Oi! Watch who you call weird, weirdo!" She says defensively.

"And who are you? Empress of Nirn?" He says, chuckling at this.

"Nirn… What's Nirn?" The Doctor asks curiously.

"Oh! I almost forgot that you're new here. Nirn is the land we're on!" He says, knocking the ground beneath his feet for effect.

The Doctor takes a notepad out and writes it down before showing his psychic paper to the man, curious about the effect more than anything.

"_Daedric prince of Time_? That's a new one! Unfortunately a little bit of paper ain't gonna fool a daedra like me." The man says, obviously speaking the truth but not making sense.

"Daedra? What the hell is a daedra?" Amy whispers to The Doctor.

"I don't know-" The Doctor begins before he's interrupted.

"A Daedra is a being of great power, especially the Daedric princes; you really need to watch out for those. Most people in Nirn think of them as evil, which they usually are!" He says, like a pamphlet advertising the land.

"So what kind of 'Daedra' are you? Whatever it means..." Amy asks quickly.

"Oh! I still haven't introduced myself. Name's Sheogorath. Daedric prince of Madness, at your service! But not really, that would be cheating!" He says, still laughing at what he says.

"But didn't he just say the princes are what we need to watch out for?" Amy asks The Doctor.

"I'm pretty sure he just warned us about himself." The Doctor realises, cautiously walking around Sheogorath. "And this explains what happened to Rory anyway." He says, putting the facts together in his head. He walks up to Sheogorath and pokes him in the chest, being confused by his existence mostly.

"You're pretty brave for a man, even with two hearts!" He complements, poking The Doctor back.

"I'm no ordinary man… That might look like I'm trying to show off but really I am not an ordinary man at all. I've lived for more than nine hundred years so I've been around quite a bit." The Doctor says, as if raising a challenge.

"Nine hundred years? Rory never told me that." Sheogorath says, rather surprised.

"I don't think I got around to telling him that. And what do you mean 'Rory never told me that'? You act like Rory would tell anyone about what we do in the TARDIS. And it sounds like you're already rather familiar with him… What are you? Really what are you?" He asks, getting very confused and poking the daedra a few more times.

"I really am missing out important information ain't I? Oh I always forget… I can get into peoples minds! So Rory didn't tell me all this, I sort of… Retrieved it. And I've known Rory for a while now. He never told you because he didn't really remember me. And you two know me too! Except you don't remember Doctor, and Amy, your meeting with me died with your future self not so long ago." Sheogorath grins, trying to see if The Doctor can figure him out.

"I get it" Amy suddenly blurts out, causing the two to suddenly look at her. "He's the 'prince of madness', and… Maybe when he says he's visited us before he doesn't mean literally but, he's visited us as madness itself. And only the future me had seen him because she went a bit loopy in that centre!" She says, looking proud of herself.

"She's good." Sheogorath says to The Doctor.

"I'm pretty sure that's why I brought her with me!" The Doctor replies, sharing a laugh with him.

"Doctor!" Amy shouts at him suddenly.

"What? I'm only having a laugh, god give me a break!" He shouts back.

"Are you forgetting that he's _stolen _Rory?" Amy shouts again, bringing the situation back to The Doctor.

"Oh! Yes! How did I forget…? Silly old me…" The Doctor scolds himself. Walking away from Sheogorath and then facing him. "So do you mind telling us how you're doing all this?" He asks.

"Magic!" Sheogorath answers bluntly.

"Oh _god._ Not magicians. There's nothing I hate more than people claiming that they're doing '_magic_' when it's just some fancy science. Come on just tell me." The Doctor says, getting annoyed.

"What? I can't tell a lie you know. It's literally impossible!" Sheogorath says, obvious that he's telling the truth in the way that he speaks.

"Oh." The Doctor says, falling on his words. "Well then… You must not have the outstanding technology required for proving these fallacies!" The Doctor shouts, regaining his confidence.

"…What does that even mean?" Sheogorath says confusedly. "Wow it's been a while since I've said that! People usually ask me that question." He says, now staring at nothing in particular.

"It means that you're stupid!" The Doctor shouts at him abruptly. "No offense by the way. It's just that everyone in this time period is probably really, really stupid. You must be kind of smart for this time." He quickly follows up with before Sheogorath can get too angry.

"Well I would expect so! I am a god after all-" He begins, about to go off on a tangent before The Doctor stops him.

"Hold on, you're a _god_?" The Doctor asks in astonishment. "That's even more ridiculous than your claim of magic!" He scoffs.

"Doctor, for crying out loud we already cleared up that he's some sort of '_prince of madness_'. We don't need your ridiculous debunking to stall us even further, come on let's get Rory!" Amy yells at him impatiently, grabbing him by the shoulder.

"He can certainly get you talking, eh? Well I'll give you a little more of a headstart because I know you're new to this whole experience. Or are you? But more to the point, I've charged your magical metallic stick-" Sheogorath starts.

"-Screwdriver." The Doctor adds as if offended.

"…Screwdriver, so you don't need to worry about that. What you do have to worry about is the nurses' health… Oh I like that, _The Nurse_-"

"Where did you put Rory!" Amy cries out.

"Let me finish!" Sheogorath roars unexpectedly. "He's fine! Physically that is. He's not doing so well mentally, of course that's not _all _my doing. Parts brought on by you, other parts brought on by being alone and isolated for two thousand years, I only kickstarted the process. I'm going to give you one chance to fix him- and I will show you how to soon enough- , otherwise he's mine." He says calmly, contrasting with his earlier behaviour.

"So, what if we don't try? Can we take him with us anyway?" Amy asks naively.

"Nope, he's mine then too." He answers, looking smug.

"Well I suppose it can't hurt giving it a try…" The Doctor says a little anxiously.

"That's the spirit! Well, almost. But close enough! Now you two, wait here." He states in broken sentences and disappears in a plume of smoke. The Doctor instantly takes out his screwdriver and notes that it's working, scanning the smoke with it. Trying to get a more acceptable response from it than the man that just told them but picking up nothing but gasses from the cloud.

"Oh he is good. He is very, very good." The Doctor says, staring at the smoke.

"Can you please stop complementing the god for a moment and actually help me find Rory?" Amy snaps.

"Well he told us to wait here so I guess we can do that for at least… For at least…" The Doctor begins but starts to drift off. "Wait… Here…" He mutters before fainting, Amy grabs him before he can fall too far and kneels down to place him on the ground gently before fainting too.


	4. Chapter 4

The Doctor and Amy wake up in a familiar place, to both of them. They're outside Amy's house. They almost believe they were dreaming all along before they realise that the TARDIS is not with them. "Where is she?" The Doctor says in horror.

"Oh I think you'll find that _she _is just fine." A voice says, they look around but find no source, it's the voice of Sheogorath though. "Go, into the house, _she _is right in there." He says vaguely.

The Doctor starts running towards the house and Amy follows suit. He runs frantically up the stairs but Amy stops for a moment. "Hey, don't you think this feels familiar?" She asks him.

"It doesn't matter!" The Doctor responds, still running towards Amy's room. "The TARDIS is in here and I can't leave her alone!" He asserts, opening the door to the room. "Oh." He says, taken aback by what he's seen in the room, Amy slowly follows his steps up the stairs.

"What is it?" She asks.

"Well… Lets just say it's familiar." He says hazily.

Amy walks up a few more steps and joins him by the door, he opens it again and she puts a hand over her mouth, it's her trying to kiss The Doctor, frozen in time. This has happened though.

"Oh Rory…" The Doctor mutters solemnly.

"What's happening?" Amy asks

"Well… I think we're somewhere inside Rory's mind. That's what I can gather from being here" The Doctor replies.

"You see, he hasn't forgotten." The voice starts. "It's quite obvious that when a man of extreme power and wonder enters a girl's life she's likely to be at least intrigued by him, well at least with mortals anyway. And a man like you Doctor? He has every right to have suspicions. I emphasized this memory with a memory from Amy, so hopefully he can see more clearly what happened." The voice says with callous glee.

"Alright, what are you doing, what are your intentions? Are you trying to drive us apart so you can get to us better? Well that isn't going to work!" The Doctor shouts lividly.

"Well, ta be honest with ya. I really ain't sure what my intentions are!" The voice chuckles, "But anyway, I have to be off. I have more important things to do, or less important things to do! Ta-ta!" It says before going silent completely.

Rory then appears in the room where the memory stands and Amy quickly looks away, ashamed. He stares on for a moment with an irritated expression. "This isn't how I imagined it would be." He says gruffly.

"Rory it's not like that anymore…" She says.

"It was the night before our wedding! You're trying to kiss him!" He shouts, pointing to the frozen memory of Amy kissing The Doctor. "Why didn't you just tell me that you don't love me? I could have… I don't know, cancelled the wedding or something…" He says, visibly getting more distressed. He disappears in a flash before Amy can say anything. As with Rory's mood the weather gets bleaker, the rain pattering on the window.

Amy sighs, "I didn't have the time to tell him I've passed all that now." She says regretfully.

"It's not your fault, anyway I think that Sheogorath is influencing him, we need to help him before it's too late!" The Doctor says, scanning the area around him with his screwdriver, trying to pick something or other up. Amy walks towards The Doctor and goes to hug him but he extends an arm to stop her. "I don't think this is the best time for that." He says, gesturing around.

Amy understands that Rory might be watching them and that he's in a fragile state at the moment, she nods to The Doctor.

Suddenly a booming voice interrupts them, "The poor, fierce, little nurse is trapped in his own thoughts. He wants confirmation that the woman he loves thinks the same of him, and although the evidence is everywhere it is nowhere to be seen! You mortals would call this madness, and that's what it is!" Sheogorath shouts, chuckling at the end of it like it's an elaborate joke. "Well then, better start finding ways to show him, eh Mrs. Pond? I'll let you figure this one out yourselves since I've already given you _so _much help. You should be so grateful! But I don't care really." He says before His voice vanishes again.

Amy and The Doctor look around for a moment and take in what he said. "What do you suppose he meant?" Amy asks.

"Well, either you have to find a very obvious way to show that you love Rory or you could… Er, well find a way to hate me I suppose." The Doctor says, sounding disappointed at this revelation.

"I don't really know if I can do that…" Amy says, looking at the ground.

The Doctor tilts her head up to look at him, "Here let me help you!" He says, leaning in and whispering something in her ear. He then stands up straight and stares at her, grinning. She takes a moment to gather herself, thinking about what The Doctor just said to her and then delivers a sturdy punch directly to his face.

He falls to the ground, getting up a second later "Oh, think I needed that! I think that's all the Ponds now, being punched by an entire family. Brilliant." He wipes some blood from his face while Amy looks at him, still furious until she realises what he said was a lie to get her to punch him, she calms down a bit. "You've all got quite the arm too; you know River once knocked me out that way! Oops spoilers, ah never mind that. You won't even be there to see it." Amy watches him patiently, tapping a foot and grabbing his attention, "I'm rambling again aren't I?" He asks.

"Yes, now let's get a move on! Don't want Rory to think I hate him." Amy says a little sarcastically, the sky outside brightening up and the rain going away but the clouds still remaining. "Use your sonic!" Amy shouts, rolling her eyes.

"What about the TARDIS?" The Doctor asks, staring at the blue box.

"Yes! That's a fantastic idea! Let's time travel when we're in Rory's head! That will surely work!" Amy shouts, fully sarcastic.

"Oh? Is that what the blue box is?" The voice says, then Sheogorath materialises in front of them, the room with the memory now empty apart from the TARDIS. Sheogorath walks towards it.

"No, no! Nothing interesting in there! I assure you!" The Doctor shouts, running towards the doors and denying entry.

"You're a terrible liar, and a master of getting people interested I can tell! After we're all finished with this you can teach me a few things. Heh-heh!" Sheogorath says before pushing The Doctor aside. "I've been wondering what's in here." He says, pulling the doors open.

"No!" The Doctor yells, still trying to regain his balance from being pushed.

Sheogorath walks straight in. "Well it's certainly smaller than I thought it would be, seeing that the three of you can fit in here…" He says, sounding very disappointed.

The Doctor looks in to see that it's just a police box, a prop of what the TARDIS is, he sighs in relief. "That would be the perception filters working." He mutters to himself.

"That look, I know that look, it means I'm being stupid! Or that you're being stupid. No, no definitely me this time. So what's usually in this box?" Sheogorath asks, pulling a phone out of the TARDIS and inspecting it closer. "And what's this thing?" He asks, dialling some numbers in expectedly.

"Well, there's usually a lot more in this box and that's a long range basic electronic communicator, also known as a telephone." The Doctor says shrewdly. "And I can show you what's really inside if you let Rory go and drop us off there." He negotiates.

"Long range basic electronic communicator… And when ya think you've heard it all." He says, still fiddling with the phone, twirling the wires around and pressing more numbers. "Well more to the point. Sounds like you're trying to strike a bargain, or as I like to say, cheat! There's nothing I hate more than a cheat, well apart from order, and maybe a few daedra but cheats are pretty high on the list I tell you. And where would the fun be if you left now? I haven't had many adventurers around for a while and you three are actually rather clever. So you have to fix Rory by yourselves, you did do the damage after all! Your little wand might be able to tell you the way, Doctor." He directs before disappearing once more, leaving the phone to dangle by the cord.

Amy and The Doctor take a while to process what he said before The Doctor speaks out "Can you imagine how stressful having a proper conversation with him would be?" He scolds.

"I was right, use the screwdriver already you nut!" Amy shouts.

"Alright, alright!" He responds snappily, turning the screwdriver on and hoping he gets a signal "It might be difficult _since we're in a brain and things don't work like that_." He says, imitating Amy's earlier words, mocking her.

She responds simply by rolling her eyes and waiting for The Doctor to finish, he scans in a particular direction and the screwdriver glows brighter "Aha!" he shouts triumphantly, running down the staircase and out the front door with hardly enough time for Amy to follow him, he starts scanning around again, refinding the source and once again running in that direction.

The rain is still falling but very lightly now and the two run towards a seemingly aimless place, jumping through gardens and streets until they get to a square of grass, surrounded by terraced houses. "We've been here before." Amy says with certainty, The Doctor stares at her, expecting an explanation. "This is one of the places we came, two years ago, when you saw me for the second time." She elaborates.

"I think I know, yeah." The Doctor says, still remembering, his thinking interrupted by a small laugh, he and Amy look to their side to see Rory sitting alone on a patch of grass a few metres away, wearing his nurses outfit.

"This is where I thought it was all over, between me and you, Amy. The perfect, raggedy Doctor has just fallen from the sky and landed in your life, '_he's no longer a fantasy you've created and is the ideal man for you; I don't even stand a chance anymore'_. That's what I thought. And I'm starting to think the same now. Do you really love me, or are you just lonely?" Rory asks rhetorically.

Amy sits down next to him but not too closely in case his emotions are still volatile. "Come on Rory, fantastic Rory. The Doctor is a lot of things and I thought I loved him. But there's a lot of things that you are he could never be! With my time in the TARDIS he's shown me wonderful things, alien planets, the future, the past; I think I've seen everything! But along with those things he's shown me who he really is, and that isn't a man worth loving. He's still a great friend though, don't get me wrong, but he doesn't love me, and there's no point in chasing a man you can't have. Besides, you're so much more compassionate and patient and… And brilliant than he is, and I think your time for waiting is finally over." Amy says, smiling hopefully at Rory.

Rory turns his head to look her in the eyes and she beams some more. He starts crying a little and quickly moves to embrace her. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry." He whispers to her, clinging to her as if his life depended on it. "I really shouldn't have doubted you and I don't know what came over me I- I-" He stutters, bursting out in tears completely. Amy returns the hug after she finally processes what he said, shushing him like a child.

The Doctor stares at the two and fakes an immature sickly face to Amy, she glares at him dauntingly and he stops. The sky then clears up and the sun gradually shows through the clouds, Rory finally stops crying and continues to embrace Amy tightly while kissing her. "You can let me go now nurse boy, I promise I won't run away." Amy says jokingly.

Rory responds by letting go and getting up quickly "Sorry." He apologises again.

"I can let it slide this time." Amy replies, still kidding.

Rory laughs and gets up, he looks towards The Doctor and gives him a thumbs up, The Doctor smiles in return and walks over to the two but is stopped by Sheogorath suddenly appearing between them. "Sorry ta interrupt your heartwarming reunion but I need to remind you that this _technically _isn't even a reunion at all! You three are still apart in the real world of course. So I'm going ta have ta wake ya all up before we move on. Any objections? Well I suppose there are, but I don't care!" He says before forcing them all return to the physical plane.


	5. Chapter 5

Rory wakes up but isn't at all where he drifted off, he appears to be in a rather grim city, it's raining and it seems a storm is approaching, he gets off the ground and looks around, two stone walls around him. He's in an alleyway, nothing is in it so he walks out into the streets, they seem to be quite busy, it appearing to be midday. He looks at the residents and quite a few are eyeing him suspiciously, him still wearing his modern-day clothing. A lot of people on the street look rather strange, some being half-cat others looking elven, he shakes his head to wake himself fully, looking to the next person who walks past him, a reptilian woman who's pace was quite quick.

"Excuse me ma'am." He shouts after her.

She turns and looks at him "Who, me?" She says in a rather hoarse voice.

"Yeah… Um, can you tell me where I am?" Rory asks, still looking at his surroundings.

"New Sheoth, the city of the madgod! Why do you ask? Wait! You are an adventurer, no? I can tell by your odd garments!" She says, walking up to him and poking his bodywarmer, he cringes and steps back a bit. "Oh, are you not a thief? Do not answer that, you may lie! I must be off now thief, do not steal from I!" She shouts unreasonably, running off.

"Fantastic! A city of mad people, just what I needed!" Rory shouts sarcastically into emptiness.

A man emerges from the shadows by his side and Rory jumps, breathing quicker. "I'm not mad, I tell you that!" He says, normal compared to the more alien residents but still visibly insane.

Rory sighs but then remembers why he awoke in the first place, "Have you seen a woman come through here with a man? Both a bit shorter than me, girl has red hair." He asks hopefully.

"Well that depends…" The man says, leaning against a wall. "Have ya got the money for that kind of… information?" He bargains naively.

"_Oh my god_, I haven't got time for this." Rory says, digging through his pockets and finding a mobile phone.

"You obviously haven't got the money for it either!" The man says, thinking he's winning something from it.

"I don't even know what currency you use! But anyway if you don't tell me I will use this… _rectangle of death_ on you. And that won't be very pleasant, I assure you!" Rory bluffs.

"And what exactly does it do?" The man says with suspicion.

"Well… Do you really want to find out?" Rory asks, pressing a few buttons on the phone so it makes bleeping sounds, the man jumps back in shock.

"Are you charging it? Don't say you are! I'll tell you, just don't hurt me!" The man begs.

Rory puts the phone away and chuckles at knowing it's completely harmless "Yeah, alright, I'll spare you for now. Where did they go?" He asks rather exhaustedly.

"They went towards Mania!" The man shouts, pointing in a certain direction. "You'll have to pass through the palace courtyard to get there though and I don't think Lord Sheogorath will be too happy about that." He warns.

"I don't think I have to worry about that, we know each other well by now." Rory says smiling, testing the mans reaction.

"Oh uh, well, I'm sorry sir I didn't know. I would have- if I knew I mean, I would have told you straight away. I'm sorry! Don't hurt me." The man blabbers, before running away.

Rory sighs in relief and starts walking in the direction the man pointed him in. Not caring for much now but getting back to familiar ground, and hopefully the TARDIS.

Amy wakes up and jolts upright, feeling concrete under her instead of the grass she fell onto earlier. She yawns and tries to get up but feels a weight on her left arm, she looks over and sees The Doctor clinging to her, still asleep. "Doctor!" She yells, he jerks upwards.

"Huh, what did I miss?" He asks, panicking.

"Nothing, you were getting a bit _close _in your sleep though." Amy says, thinking about the experience she just had with Rory, not wanting to repeat it.

"Terribly sorry, I don't think I can control my unconscious state. Just look at where we ended up." He says, causing Amy to properly look around for the first time since awakening. The sky is clear and even though it is midday some stars are clearly visible, she looks at the stone around her and it's a rather pale yet inviting orange. A woman suddenly appears around the wall they were sleeping by and makes Amy and The Doctor jump a little.

"Is someone hurt? Need assistance? I'm a rather good doctor if I say so myself!" She says in a strange English accent, as if exaggerating. She looks elfish and is a bright white as if glowing, wearing an extremely elaborate dress.

"Sorry for the confusion! My name is The Doctor." He says, getting up quickly to greet the woman. "And you are?"

"Silly me, and silly you! Names aren't important here, we can all laugh without names hahahaha yes!" She says, probably delusional.

"Right, cool. Have you seen a man come through here? He looks…. Well boring compared to what it might be here." The Doctor asks, getting a glare from Amy which he shrugs off.

"Well, now that you mention it I did see a strange man come through here earlier, didn't stop to chat for whatever reason and went straight to the other half of the city! How daft of him! It's awful over there, you wouldn't like it. Not at all!" She shouts, seemingly obstructing them from walking ahead. "Really you should stay here, safe in this district. Everything's so very wonderful here! Is it not? And you should become proper citizens here too! New Sheoth isn't kind towards strangers and adventurers and you seem to have landed yourselves in both categories. Well it's a good thing I'm friendly enough, come, come meet the people here!" She chatters on, shepherding them further into the city.

"No, no! Stop that! Sorry, sorry we're rather busy, can't have any interruptions. It's not good to have someone you love go missing." The Doctor says, trying to avoid the situation.

"Oi stop it you! We've just come out of a rather shocking experience in Rory's mind. Don't need you further complicating things by saying you love him now." Amy jokes, making a face at The Doctor.

"Oh shush you." The Doctor snaps, checking his pockets for nothing in particular. "Right, what have we got in here… Aha!" He shouts and pulls out a jammie dodger and holds it to the elf's head. "Ok then, woman! Do you know what this is?" He shouts at her.

"A delicious snack?" She asks obliviously.

"Well… No! It isn't. This is a… Magical device that can… Make your head explode when I press the button!" He shouts, still holding it out like a ward.

"It looks awfully tasty!" The woman squeaks, stealing the biscuit and taking a bite from it. "And it tastes awfully tasty!" She says delightedly. The Doctor sighs as his plan is foiled and the woman continues to stare at the biscuit in wonder. "Can I have this?" She asks.

"Yes… Sure take it-" The Doctor begins.

"_But_! You have to leave us find my husband, we might be back so don't worry too much." Amy adds quickly, The Doctor smiles at her sharpness. The woman looks in wonder at the treat.

"Of course I'll leave you! But… Have you got any more of these?" She asks expectantly. The Doctor pats down his jacket before grinning, pulling out a full packet of them and handing them over.

"Hopefully you'll have more luck with them than I did." The Doctor says heartedly. He and Amy start walking in the direction the woman was previously blocking, her now beaming at them, waving them off and seeming even brighter than before, saying every rendition of 'goodbye' possible.

They run up some nearby steps, looking as if they lead to a palace they can just about see over a wall, assuming this is where the other half of the city resides since the woman was so keen on guarding the way, they get to the top and try to enter the gateway but are again stopped, by a real guard this time.

"Halt mortals!" The guard booms, she's wearing a full golden plate set of armour and her eyes are beast like, very threatening. "Who do you think you are wandering into the palace grounds?" She demands.

"Well uh… We are…" Amy stalls, The Doctor shuffling through his pockets. "_Hurry up!_" She hisses at him quietly. He suddenly pulls out a flat wallet and flicks it open, showing a blank rectangle of paper. He flashes it to the guard and smiles.

"We are… Sheogorath's new personal guards!" He says, grinning before realising what he just said. "Oh that's a bit naff isn't it?" He mumbles to Amy.

"Apologies… You don't seem to be suited to the job though." She says, gesturing to the medieval armour they are wearing.

"Yes, catch more people off guard that way." Amy states. "Anyway, uh, move aside peasant!" She says with much bravado, the guard raises an eyebrow and steps out of the way. Amy and The Doctor walk through the wooden gate to the palace.

"_Peasant!_" The Doctor imitates, mocking Amy.

"Stop it! I was in the moment ok?" She insists.

"Yeah sure, let's not argue about that though." He says, walking onwards. "Now, where could the other district be?" He ponders, looking around for any clues but not finding any in particular. Amy starts laughing for no apparent reason and the doctor looks at her, she's glancing over his shoulder. "What? What's so funny?" He asks.

"He's pulling faces at you!" Amy says, still giggling.

"Who is? Who are you on about?" He asks before suddenly realising, he turns to face Rory who's standing on the other side of the courtyard they're in, he's making faces that are aimed to insult The Doctor as a joke, he sticks his tongue out to Rory in response and Rory chuckles. Amy runs past The Doctor to meet Rory and The Doctor walks after her. Amy collides with Rory in a hug and he seems a bit stunned by this but hugs her back anyway.

"I missed you." Amy says.

"Same here." Rory replies, hugging her tighter.

The Doctor eventually catches up to them and stands by their side. "What about me?" He asks, faking sadness.

"Come here!" Rory shouts, pulling him into the hug.

"Not too tight now!" The Doctor warns, getting a reply in the form of a tighter hug, causing all three to laugh. After a few moments of this they stop. "So Rory, how did you get in here anyway?" The Doctor asks, curiosity peaking.

"This." He replies, pulling out his mobile phone. "Turns out people from the medieval era think it's a weapon of mass destruction! They thought I was some '_Prince of Destruction_', here on serious terms with '_The mad god himself_. I must resemble him or something." He says, putting on an angry expression.

"You would be the coyest prince of destruction if that were the case, they must have been thinking '_blimey he's not how I imagined him at all' _when you blundered through the streets!" Amy mocks, Rory sighs in response. "Oh come on, I'm only joking. Being shy isn't a bad thing!" She beams.

"Reunited at last, brings a tear to my eyes!" Sheogorath interrupts, causing all three of them to jump in surprise. "You three need to stop being so shocked, this is my realm and I do actually have the ability to travel freely through it! Or at least I think I do, if I don't then I've been horribly misled. Anyway a promise is a promise, back to the brilliant blue box we go!" He shouts with much enthusiasm, with one swift movement of his cane, which almost hits The Doctor, he makes the trio appear beside the TARDIS, exactly where they landed when they began.


	6. Chapter 6

"Ah well, it's been brilliant here Sheogorath, truly, but we need to be off!" The Doctor says hastily, grabbing the daedra's hand and shaking it thoroughly, faking a huge smile. He goes to walk towards the TARDIS but is stopped as Sheogorath hasn't let go of his hand yet, The Doctor stares quizzically at him.

"You haven't shown me inside the box yet." He states.

"Oh it's just like in the dream, boring, so very boring and dull with only a wired phone!" The Doctor lies.

"Wait the dream actually happened?" Rory asks, a bit slow.

"Yes!" The Doctor and Sheogorath say simultaneously which surprises The Doctor.

Rory starts blushing as he remembers his behaviour. "I know you're lying Doctor, just open the doors already! Because I certainly can't for whatever reason." Sheogorath says, getting more impatient.

The Doctor takes a moment to think, looking around at his current situation. The man at his arm fully capable of killing him instantly, Rory and Amy not knowing what to do, the TARDIS a considerable amount of feet away. He sighs and gives in, searching for the key in his pocket under the armour, but not finding anything. He begins to panic. "Uh... Hold on I'll find it soon enough." He assures, patting himself down trying to find it, pulling the odd trinket out and inspecting it but then putting them back in his pockets.

"Come on I haven't got all day! Well actually I have all of eternity but I think it would be better for all of us if we got in there soon!" Sheogorath says, still holding The Doctors arm, tapping his foot almost comically.

Amy seems to remember something because she jolts suddenly and stares at The Doctor and Sheogorath, who are both currently having a staring competition of their own as The Doctor fumbles through his pockets. Amy takes this as an all-clear and pulls the TARDIS key from her own pocket. She then nudges Rory to gain his attention as he was staring at the two arguing. He gazes at her, bewildered look in his eyes.

"And exactly what do you plan on doing with that?" He whispers to her.

"I'm not completely sure yet..." She responds, turning the key in her hand. "But I could probably signal The Doctor to break free. We could rush in the TARDIS without the mad god and get out of here. He can't follow us either because he said he can't get in the TARDIS... Ok maybe I am completely sure." She admits.

"How long have you been thinking about this?" Rory asks her.

"Doesn't matter now let's-" She begins but is interrupted when she looks at The Doctor and Sheogorath now glaring at her, she realises that the daedra probably heard every word she said and the colour drains from her face. "Oh." She says, utterly dumbfounded.

Sheogorath smiles smugly "Well, well it seems that-"

"Now!" Rory interrupts, expecting everyone to jump into action, which they do to his surprise.

Amy runs to the TARDIS and unlocks it, Rory takes her sword while she's passing by and The Doctor takes the moment of confusion to escape from the man's grip, running into the TARDIS.

Rory holds the sword in his clutches, facing the immortal. Sheogorath just about overcomes his confusion and faces the TARDIS to see the smaller man holding the sword sternly in his direction. He chuckles, "Ya really think ya can take me on with that fragile object?" He taunts.

"No… no- not really. I tried this before with vampires and it failed, but at least I can buy them both a little time to get away from this… this _stupid _land. Who cares about Rory anyway? At least I can be useful this way." Rory says, smiling at his own words in slight disbelief.

"_I _care about Rory, that's you! I care about you. You my champion, You my nephew, You my nurse!" Sheogorath claims, taking a few steps towards him.

Rory tenses up and moves to a more solid battle stance, ready to defend with his life. The TARDIS hasn't started to dematerialize and Rory gets confused but stays with Sheogorath anyway. "You don't care about me and I know that, and I'm not related- or I don't belong to you in any way. Before you ramble on about that let me just say _I really don't care!_" Rory shouts bluntly, ready for anything thrown at him.

Sheogorath walks closer to Rory and opens his mouth but is cut short by Rory lunging forward and striking him in the chest, as Rory is pulling the sword back Sheogorath grabs the sword himself and turns it on Rory, giving him a deep but non-lethal cut to the side. In the midst of pain Rory hears Amy calling for him to get in. Sheogorath takes the sword him with one hand and holds a rather painful looking cut that spans his entire chest with his other hand. Before he can attack again Rory thinks for a moment about how much Amy and The Doctor actually do care, he sighs and stumbles into the TARDIS, closing the door on Sheogorath.

Before he can shut it fully Sheogorath places his foot in the door and prevents it from closing. Rory tries closing it again but is pushed back by Sheogorath forcing his way in, Rory is left to sit on the ground and tend to his wounds. Amy gasps and runs over to assist him.

"Oh. Well this is certainly bigger than I had imagined." Sheogorath remarks, looking around in awe despite his status in the world.

"That's what they all say." The Doctor says, a lot colder than his usual tone.

Sheogorath appears to experience a sudden influx of pain despite having the wound for about a minute, blood starts gushing out of him and he yells. "What have you done?"

The Doctor looks at the situation with understanding and smiles rather smugly. "Why don't you ask _her_?" He asks, pointing to the controls in the middle of the room. "But if you don't have the patience for that then I can tell you that she drained all of your wand waving whimsy and has made you… Human? No, mortal at least."

"Wow. Being mortal sucks!" He shouts, chuckling but then coughing up blood. "Now change me back!" He demands.

"I can't do that." The Doctor says truthfully. "But if you leave right now all effects will be reversed."

"No way am I choosing invulnerability over this thing!" He states stubbornly "And I can live through this… It's only a scratch!"

Sheogorath waltzes up to the central controls and grins, he starts pulling bobbles and switches as if he knows what he's but The Doctor doesn't look impressed at all, actually repressing laughter but coughing it up in short chortles.

He looks up from the controls to see this and frowns, causing The Doctor to giggle more. He then remembers his sword and holds it up to threaten The Doctor; he seems unmoved by this but stops laughing.

Amy looks up from Rory's now bandaged body, he had fallen unconscious from bloodloss but was likely to survive. She gasps as she sees Sheogorath threatening The Doctor. "I'll kill you if you touch a hair on that mans head!" She shouts at him lividly.

"No! No, nobody is killing anyone. Even if one of us is a completely insane god nobody is dying." The Doctor vows.

"Then show me how to fly the bloody thing." Sheogorath sniggers.

The Doctor thinks for a moment but then shakes his head. "The lives of thousands potentially being ruined isn't worth it." He sighs, seeming ready for death.

"You aren't afraid of death Doctor. I've been around a lot of people like you in my life… Well non-life, well I don't really know what to call it. More on topic though deciding on death either takes a lot of thinking or a desire to begin with, and you haven't had five minutes to think." Sheogorath says, implying something deeper.

The Doctor flares up a little and turns to his companions. "Pay no attention to what he's saying Amy!" He shouts at her, obviously trying to conceal something but Amy is rather apathetic about the situation, looking quite tired.

The comment makes Sheogorath remember that Amy is still there and shifts his attention to her. He runs over to Amy, wincing all the way, his wounds not gotten any better. He quickly grabs her and holds the sword to her neck, Amy shouts all kinds of insults at him but he just laughs.

"Amy!" The Doctor shouts, going to run to them but Sheogorath pushes the sword closer to her skin, not breaking it but still touching. Amy struggles more at this but he holds her tightly.

"That's more like it!" Sheogorath shouts enthusiastically at The Doctor. "It seems your partner is so _very _important to you, more than yourself actually!"

"_Companion _not partner, and… And sure, I'll start up the TARDIS now." The Doctor gives in, half-heartedly drumming the controls.

"So what exactly does this magical machine do anyway?" Sheogorath asks.

"It… Well it travels in time, and space." The Doctor falters.

Sheogorath gasps. "Oh. _Reaaaally? _How exciting! Well, there we are then, all of time and space is mine. Where do we go first?"


End file.
